Valeros

Damon Van Brandt's page

68 posts. Alias of rorek55.


Race

Human

Classes/Levels

HP:55| AC:18| T:12 |FF:16 |CMB:+10 CMD:23 T:17| Fort:+7| Ref:+7 | Will:+6 | Intitiative:+4| Percetion+15

Gender

M

Size

M

Age

26

Alignment

NN

About Damon Van Brandt

Damon's Appearance
Mythweavers for Damon

Personality:

Blunt, calm, relaxed, friendly, yet distant. He loves to be put in situation where he can push beyond his limits, and often will put other people in such situations. After all, they are the best opportunities for real growth. His way of caring about someone comes off as crass and sometimes down right brutish, but he's hard on people because he wants them to be better than they were the day before. He often has an air of disinterest about him though always seems to have a grin on his face. He gives no care at all about what others think of him, his actions, or his practices. He does what he needs to survive, and even thrive. He often doesn't let anyone get overly close, and is known to push people away. Despite his normally jovial or relaxed attitude, he has a serious side when things get rough that make him exceptionally reliable in times of real hardship. Though, when such times are not apparent he is a pretty selfish slacker when it comes to responsibilities. In other words, you can rely on him in dire times, but he will shirk most any duty during the "normal" times. He often has a fire in eyes during a tough fight.

Background::

Damon was born a child to a up and coming "noble" family as the eldest of four siblings. Two brothers and a single sister. However, due to his choice of companions, ill fortune and under handed schemes he lost his family and his money, and yet, he felt free for the first time in his life.

Damon never sat well with the, as he put it, boring life of a merchant lord. By the age of 14, he only way his father could get him to take his studies half seriously was to train him in only the bare basics of swordsmanship alongside the more bookish studies. Indeed, his resentment towards his father, and his father's frustration towards him and been brewing for awhile, and would only continue to further stew as years went on and he was further held down and entrapped by his father's desires.

It was around this time Damon started spending all of his free time outside in the city, often finding trouble in the form of fights or other small misdemeanors. At the age of 17, he had made a small name for himself as a troublemaker, as well as for his rough and instinctual style of fighting. Using both fist and sap in the fighting rings around the town. It was at this time, he met a girl by name of Alaria. A Varisian fire dancer in a traveling band of performers. He was smitten nigh immediately. He would eventually join the troupes performances when they were in town, and seemed to make great friends with them all, even the troupe's leader.

At the eave of his 18th birthday, the pressure from his father for Damon to take up the family business, and to finally start acting "as a proper man should" and to finally "take his proper place in the family" proved too great. After a large argument, the rift between them stretched to its breaking point. Damon had, to this point, managed to keep his dalliance with the Varisian troupe a secret from his family. However, now his anger at his father had reached its boiling point and he knew just how to humiliate him. He went about setting events up for the troupe he had joined to be the main performance at his 18th birthday despite his father's hesitance. It was here, in this public showing he would embarrass his father. Damon had joined the act, largely, as a fire dancer alongside Alaria. Using twin blades doused in oil for his performances. It was near the end of this performance that he removed the mask and cloak he used both to hide his identity and as part of the performance. Garnering gasps and silence as he stood there staring towards his father a furious anger on his fathers face.

It was here where things got quickly out of hand. Unbeknownst to Damon. The Troupe he had joined had planned to use this chance to rob the wealthy family of some of its riches. The group sent to carry out the robbery had been found, and a following skirmish resulted in a small fire, and the death of Damon's youngest sibling. It was this that proved the breaking point, and in a fit of rage and sorrow his father disowned him and banished him from the household. Giving him but a small pittance to survive on. Weighed down by guilt, Damon fell into fighting to make a living for a time. Incorporating a fair portion of what he learned from his time as a fire dancer into his style to further differentiate it. Eventually, after about three years. His desire for excitement, adventure, and danger lead him to join the pathfinders as the fighting rings had grown boring to him. Though, a large part of the decision was an attempt to forget and leave the pas

That rush of adrenaline, the sheer focus of the fight. In that moment, you truly feel alive, in that moment, you forget more than any alcohol induced stupor could even hope to achieve. When you take part in a life threatening fight... you are free.

I'll do this IC. Voice is on the deeper side, with just a hint of a roguish accent

pathfinder Questionnaire:
For what reason does your character become a pathfinder? What motive keeps them going?
Whaaat, I gotta answer all these questions? Ahhh, sure, whatever.. lets see.. well, for one there's the little fact that, if I didn't, I may well be stuck back in that stuffy monastery. Sure, it wasn't terrible, some of them old dodgers really could fight. But, the rest of it? Just not for me man.

Secondly, See, I've got this wanderlust, had it since I can remember. What better way to scratch that itch than sign on with an "adventurer guild". Get sent to places all over. Sure its no society lodge, but uh, well. Plenty of reasons to be here than there. Anyway..

Then there's the little fact that I've got my own style, and what better way to push it further than life or death situations? Only so much training and sparring can do for you. You gotta put yourself on the line, make or break. That's when you truly push past your limits and make breakthroughs.

Finally, I don't know a better place to make some cash for food and booze! Haha!

[spoiler=IC Questionnaire]
What is your relationship to the gods and religion?
Eh, They are there, but they don't really help all that much.. A goal to strive towards perhaps but uh, I'm not one for all the traditions and uh, expectations most clergy go through. I live by my own code, and I don't intend change that.

-Do you have an easy way with strangers?
Certainly, its just they might not have an easy way with me. I tend to speak my mind and, well, I don't hold back. So its easy for them to see me as abrasive or rude. Its just better to not let them get too close.

-Do you play well with others?
When I need to, Always better to drink with friends, and having someone you can trust at your back in a fight is worth a hundred soldiers. But, Its rarer to find that than a diamond and besides, having too many "friends" just opens you up to being betrayed or let down. It also tends to load you down with expectations and I'm not one to like those. Or any real responsibility for that matter if I can help it.

-What draws you to the life of an adventurer?
Wanderlust and coin. A single contract of even the lower tier variety pays more than a year or more of working as a laborer or artisan. Though, I suppose I'd be lying if I didn't add that it gives plentiful opportunities to test yourself against all manner of foes. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy a fight and a chance to hone my unique style. Suppose thats why I was drawn to mercenary work and ended up in the guild.

-Do you identify with a particular animal or element?
Always enjoyed the wind, both the feeling of it on my face, the exciting chill of unknown places, the feeling of freedom it brings. Going where it wills.

-What specific goals do you have, if any?
Goals? Heh, Well, I suppose master my style of swordsmanship. Maybe start a school one day I don't know. I'm more of a... live in the now sort. I rarely plan ahead more than a few months at a time. I just

-Do the ends justify the means?

Yes, they do. And while there are limitations to everything... Stand among the ashes of a trillion dead souls, and ask their ghosts if honor matters. Their silence, is your answer.

further personality building-

Loyalty, or Honesty?:
A: Honesty. Loyalty can hold you down, or force you to go against your code or do something you will regret. Being honest, to both yourself and others. That won't lead you astray. Though, it may hurt some feelings.

Compassion, or Justice:
A: What is justice? Who decides what is moral or fair? Is it just for a merchant to take the hand of a child stealing to survive? Or for the bandit, whose children are starving, to hang for trying to feed them? No, Justice is far too fickle a thing. Compassion begets Compassion, it creates hope. Everyone understands what it is, and it is simple to define. If everyone focused on Compassion, well.. People like me might not be needed.

Love, or Fear :
A: Love, Love, I believe, is fundamental in life. Without it, you lose understanding in many things. Love is what allows things to continue. Fear has its place, it can heighten ones awareness, give them a drive for something short term. But it can hinder as much as it helps. Love has its downfalls, but its strengths outweigh those. Besides, you gotta love something to truly dedicate yourself to it.

Obedience, or free thinking:
Free thinking. One must learn to think for themselves, to make judgements based on their own experiences and knowledge. They should not base their perception on life on the words of others but should discover it for themselves. Though, that said, perhaps taking the experience of others into account on some things is warranted.

Pride, or Greed:
Pride, I am proud of my accomplishments. Proud of my swordsmanship and skills. My pride can be a source of strength. However, greed, can only bring about destruction of oneself. Excess desire of anything, leads only to dark paths.

Group, or Individual:
Individual, the worlds made of individuals, some are more important than others. Besides, I hate expectations. Folk always seem to expect you to help them for nothing, especially if you're "in a group". I may help you, I may not, damn your expectations.

What is Right?, What is wrong?
Morality is... difficult to explain. In the natural world, Might makes Right, however there is also a tenderness to be had among the wild critters. I believe, one does what they can to survive, to get by. Its the way of nature. Some harm others to do this, some build each other up. At the end of the day, those who survive decide what is right and wrong. Those who die, well, they don't have much to say do they?